Diaper housing



M. DONOVAN Nov. 13, 1951 DIAPER HOUSING 3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed June 14,1949 INVENTOR.

i Nov. 13, 1951 M. DONOVAN 2,575,164

DIAPER HOUSING Filed June 14, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 OOYO N V EN TOR.

,47 rag/vir -M. DONOVAN Nov. 13, 1951 DIAPER HOUSING 3 Sheets-Sheet 3Filed June 14, 1949 m INVENTOR.

` margins of' theV folded diaper;

Patented Nov. 13, 1951 l Ill-AREE HOUSIlSGr..A Marion DonumniLSaugatucrl'r;` Gianni., asg'nor toa Kennedy (larv Liner. &s: Bag: Gor,Inca.. ShelbyEA ville, Ind., ..a. onrpnrationoflndi'anz':

applicativa-Junon, 1949,.`sena1.No. 99.096

1 This invention relates; toI new and useful im.` provements; inv diaperhousings; andv relates. more. particularlyv toai. novel. unitaryencasement. for. thediaper. which substantially completely en` closesVthe diaper' and also formsI eiective fasten.- ing` means. for securing.the diaper in: place ronthe. wearer... The. diaper housingyconstituting.. the, principal. embodiment of. the. present..inventionisf an: improvement on tliexdiaper coverssetzforth. in ooepending;application Serial' Nm 71,5861',l led January* 1.9,.. 1.949 now.PatentNo; 2,556,800' and. Serial No.. 91,536, led.. May 5, 1.949andthe.. present application.. constitutes a. continuation.-y inepartofi suoli latter application.

Animportantobject of the invention is tov proi vide,- a, conni'ng. andsupporting element for a diaper formed in the naturel oir a housing.which' encloses: its. outer surface, =its fouredges' and the:

marginal' portions of its inner surface, andwhen; tliev unit is inplace. on the baby the` assembly leakproof andi the leg openings arelfree' and "Well: ventilated: Thus; theneed forsafety' pins; tying tapesand other-'fastening' devices for the diaperA is eliminated and theconventional diaperfmay be simply" folded to proper size and'-placediwithin thev` housing; The completel unit' is then adjustedIl inplace on the baby andg suitably secured as'- by' snap yfasteners'.In'thi's fashion; av diaper of usual"-4 size oan' be folded' so'as` tokprovide" many more layers` of'material thanl would' bez the caseT withthef usual folding of' the diaper' andi'v application.- by'saietyVpinsor the like.

Itfwillf be apparentfrom 'they foregoing thatl'another'objeot'of theinvention is to provide a: diaperv assembly#having-a greatermeasure of'absorption andrv wherein the area of" the'wet4 diaper' wlii'cjl'if is2exposed' to the body.4` veryconsid'erahl-y'redixcedf by-=providingarrinn'erwall construction compris; ing side aps and end aps which coverthe-four."

nother" objectuof the invention is to. provideEv afdiaperhousingl'xavingan outer-wall, sidewalls',y anda'nzinner wallI forme'dfrom.aasingle:blank-.ion` fromf: plural? bl'anlsf which; provides anelongated opening: oi'v such; size asf toi permit: of: effective'diapering but which encloses the balance-ofthef. inner surface of:` thediaperelemente. securely supporting` the; same andi' effectivelyshielding'.A suche portions;,. whenV Weiz. from the: body oii the;infanta.. Y v

Thev entire-1 housingis preferably.F made: Enorm.flexible;.vvaterprocn'... material:whichzpreventswete ting'of the bedor, ofI a chair; in: that; the` hcl-us` ing provides1v an: effective.pocket from. whichv no: Y

camilow smlongas-the.childpis;i-11zfanyi muah-551iDreierredeembodimentofithe present. inventions,

5. Glaims'.. (Cl. Hi8-EWI- posi-tion.v The: l'iousi-ng.t provides a.greater measure freedom"for-'the'.childthan: do usual. rubbervv pantsaordiaper coveringa. and` since there' isno: constrictirmfl of' the. partsthere is. provided. a de@-v -j sired.- measureof ventilation'.

Another importantobject' of; thev invention ist'ov. provide a housing ofthe character'desoribedwitn novel sideswallscformedfromblankszhavinggenera'llyfthe shape:` of: a. catenarycurve andwhose'.

i; edgesi are? largely on"` the: bias .offthefmaterial so;l

A .flurtherf obj ectl of'v thev invention is; to providery a diaperhousing whichV isi readily cleaned; byfy rinsingfinewarm. water andwhereas the housing is'. fully pocketed,v convenient drain means are:-

provided inor'cler.v thatzitf may be simply hung up;

and=retain .none-of thezwater in theepockets;V Still another; object ofthe inventionis .tov pro.-

vi'de. a. diaper.A assembly including a.v diaper and. housing thereforwhichA providesinterconnected.v

front. and backi panels,` having laterally extending wingtportionswhichoverlapv each other and. are

prov-ided. with. plural, complemental fastening` means-arranged inspaced relation atthe corners.. of thehousing, any pair of which maybeengaged. tosecurethe housing in place-and to enable the housing to beused-as the. child grows.

In .theedrawingsz Figa. 1r, a front. and partial side.. perspective;-vew. of a diaper housing. embodying. my invene..

tion.

Fig... 2' is.y a.. vertical section'. taken. on line. 2---2` Fig. 9 is aplan view ofthe blank. used inform.-

ingeach-.side wall...

Ei'g.1.0.isa.planviewoftheblankused'in forming each side. nap..

Elige.. 1-1.is.a. plan. view of a. seoondembodimentihavingintegrallyformed. end. aps..

Eig; lzr a. plan.. view of" a.r further. embodimene having'a-.onez-pieceinner, wall..

The.. .pattern cfr-the. diaper housing forming a.

rearedgell.

A front flap 23 of generally the same shape blank I5 is provided withopposed-generallyparali lel edges 24 and 28 the latter being the longerof'v the two, and angular edge sections 25-26 at each end thereof.

A fourth blank 21, two of which are used, has an inner concave edge 3|,an opposed, generally straight edge 29, both joined by short edges 38.

y Finally, blank 34, forms a side Wall, one on each side of the housing,and is of generally the shape of a catenary curve with opposed edges35-36, both joined at their ends by short edges 31. Lines which aretangent to the central portions of edges 35-36 would be generallyparallel with the grain line of the material.

A In assembling the diaper housing a tuck 40 is rst formed in the rearsection leading inwardly from edge II. The rear flap I5 is folded alongbroken line 4I to form the upper edge 42 of the housing. Edge II ofblank I is next stitched to blank I forming stitch line 43 which extendsthrough both layers of the flap. The inner sec-1 tion 44 of the rearflap now overlays a portion of the inner surface of the outer` Wall I8.

'Blank'23 is now folded along line 45 to form the upper front edge 46and edge 28 is stitched' to blank IIJ to form stitch line 41 which alsoextends through both layers of the material. The' fold line 45 of blank23 is of substantially the same length as edge I2 of blank I8 and whenassembled, is positioned adjacent thereto. Theremaining section 5I formsthe inner front flap.A

` The outer curved edge 36 of each side wall blank is now secured toouter wall I8 as by means of stitching along straight lines 52 shown inFig. 6 forming stitch line 56. The ends 31 of these side wall blanks areleft free and unattached for a reason presently to be discussed.

The inner curved edges 35 of side wall blanks 34 are now stitched to thestraight edges 29 of side ap blanks 21 to form stitch line 51. Finallythe terminal edges 30 of the latter blanks are stitched to the innersurface of end aps Y44 and 5I, forming stitch lines 6 I Complementalfastening means 62 are disposed in spaced relation at eachA cornersection of the housingl and as the child grows the fasteners nearer thecorner section may be used.

In Fig. 3 these fasteners are shown as being substantially equallyspaced from upper edges 42f46 whereas in Fig. 4 these fasteners |52V aredisposed progressively nearer the corner sections to allow for a morerounded opening for the legs as vthe child grows.

By leaving the terminal edges 31 of side walls 23 free and unattachedthe housing may be easily p washed and rinsed and then hung up tothoroughly dry, such edges forming openings for anotherWiSe closedpocket. This pocket isV de"- ned'by stitch lines 56-51 along each sideof the I housing and 43-41 at opposed ends thereof. Extending inwardlyfrom these stitch linesfare vthe side iiap's 21 and the front and -rearfiaps5I`-'4'4;`

This defines a substantially rectangular compartment for the diaper(Figs. 2 and 5) In use the diaper is iirst folded to proper shape and isthen inserted under the side walls and flaps. Thus, a substantialportion of the margins of the inner surface of the diaper are coveredwith waterproof material, leaving the central, elongated section exposedfor eective diapering. The front section dei-ined by the overlappingflaps 23--5I is slightly more narrow than the rear section which makesapplication of the diaper assembly to the squirming child easier.

In Fig. 1 the wing terminals of the front section are shown asoverlapping the wing terminals ofA the rear section. This arrangementmay, of course, be reversed.V

' It was earlier pointed out that the outer, convexly curved edges 36 ofthe side wall members 34 are stitched along straight lines 52 of outerwall blank I0 to form stitch line 56. When the housing is in the fiatposition of Figs. 3 and 4 this curved edge-straight edge relationshiphas a tendency to have a gathering effect in the housing which is of noconsequence. When, however, the diaper is in the position of Figs. l and2 the straight` line 52 has'assumed a concavely curved contourintegrating it with'the curved edge 36 of the side wall. Similarly, theouter curved edge 35 of the side wall is joined to a straight edge 28 ofthe inner wall 21 which has the same effect.

In the modified arrangement of Fig. 1l the outer iwall and the end flaps66 and 61 are formed integrally rather than in separate pieces as in therst embodiment, the broken lines 68-69 showing the initial contour ofthe outer blank. It will also be noted that the grainlineV of thematerial has been rotated approximatelyV` 45 from that shown in the rstembodiment..

stitched to the outer wall portion along stitch lineV 8I. In thisinstance, again the short terminal ed-ges of the side walls 12=13 may beleft free and unattached to form openings for drainage f in laundering.Snap fasteners 82 are secured at the four corners of the housing.- ThisparticularV construction has many of the same Aadvantages asv the rstembodiment and is less expensive to construct, f- Y Y The diaper (notshown) is inserted inthe housing in the same fashion as in the rstembodiment ofthe invention. For the purpose of rein-- forcingtheterminal sections of the housing additional layers of material may beinterposed 'be mials 86-81 may be turned inwardly. The same side wallsSI1-9| are used and the inner wall ls formed in' one piece 92 with anellipticalopening 93.' A stitchline 94 secures the iiap portions and"the ends of the'innerwal'l. At 95 there are shown in broken lines smallfastening elements secured adjacent stitch lines 94 for securing totheendsof the diaper to correct any tendency for the ends of the diaper tofall.

The term stitching as used herein and in the appended claims is notlimited to joining portions of two blanks by a stitch line produced by asewing machine but has reference to any joining means. Since theflexible plastic lms, either with or without fabric backing, arewaterproof i and are particularly well suited to the diaper housing ofthe present invention, various heat sealing or solvent joining means maybe used.`

The contour of all lines shown in the drawing, whether edges or blanksare stitch lines, is suggestive only and the lines may be varied withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention. For instance, lines 52 onblank l() which form stitch lines 56 `are shown as being straight andslightly non-parallel. The housing would function substantially as wellif these lines were more nearly parallel or if they were slightlycurved.

While three forms or embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed herein for illustrative purposes, and the construction andarrangement incidental to specific applications thereof have beendisclosed and discussed in detail, it is to be understood that theinvention is limited neither to the mere details or relative arrangementof parts, nor to its specific embodiments shown herein, but thatextensive deviations from the illustrated forms or embodiments of theinvention may be made without departing from the principles thereof.

What I claim is:

l. A diaper housing comprising an outer wall, an inner wall having acentral elongated opening, and opposed side Walls connecting the outerand inner walls, the outer wall being formed from a blank havinglaterally extending wing portions at each end thereof which are providedwith complemental fastening means for attachment around the Waistsection of the wearer, the side walls being formed from blanks havingsubstantially the shape of a catenary curve whose opposed curved edgesare secured to the outer and inner walls along substantially straightlines on such walls, the outer wall and the side walls forming with theinner wall a pocket arranged to receive a folded diaper, the latter wallbeing arranged to overlie the marginal edges of the diaper whileexposing the portion defined by the central elongated opening.

2. A diaper housing comprising an outer wall, an inner wall having acentral elongated opening and opposed side walls connecting the outerand inner walls, the outer Wall being formed from a blank havinglaterally extending wing portions at each end thereof which are providedwith complemental fastening means for attachment around the waistsection of the wearer, the side Walls being formed from blanks havingsubstantially the shape of a catenary curve whose opposed curved edgesare secured to the outer and inner walls along substantially straightlines on such walls, the opposite ends of such side walls being free andunattached, the outer wall and the side walls forming with the innerWall a pocket arranged to receive a folded diaper, the edges of thelatter wall adjacent the opening forming a cover for the diaper.

3. A diaper housing comprising an outer wall formed from a generallyrectangular blank having concavely curved side edges, an inner wallstructure formed with an elongated central opening and comprisinginwardly folded front and rear flaps secured at opposite ends of theouter wall and side wall flaps secured at opposite ends to the front andrear flaps, and side Walls formed from blanks generally in the shape ofcatenary curves secured along their outer edges to the outer wall insubstantially straight lines on the latter and secured along their inneredges to the outer edges of the side flaps, the opposed terminal edgesof the side wall blanks being free and unattached, and fastening meansat the corner sections for attachment around the body of the wearer.

LA diaper housing comprising an outer wall formed from a generallyrectangular blank having laterally extending Wing portions at each endthereof, an inner wall structure formed with an elongated centralopening and comprising inwardly folded front and rear aps secured atopposite ends of the outer wall and side flaps secured at opposite endsto the front and rear flaps, such side flaps having generally straightouter edges and concavely curved inner edges, and side walls formed fromblanks generally in the shape of catenary curves secured along theirouter edges to the outer wall in substantially straight lines on thelatter and secured along their inner edges to the outer edges of theside dans, the opposed terminal edges of the side wall blanks being freeand unattached, the inner wall structure being arranged to engage themarginal edges of a folded diaper placed Within the housing, andcomplemental fastening means at the corner sections of the housing.

5. A diaper housing formed from moistureproof material and comprising anouter wall formed from a generally rectangular blank having laterallyextending wing portions at each end thereof, an inner wall structureformed with an elongated central opening and comprising inwardly foldedfront and rear flaps secured at opposite ends of the outer wall and sidenaps secured at opposite ends to the front and rear iaps, and side wallsformed from blanks generally in the shape of catenary curves securedalong their outer edges to the outer wall in substantially straightlines on the latter and secured along their inner edges to the outeredges of the side flaps, the opposed terminal edges of the side wallblanks being free and unattached, each of said aps forming the innerwall structure being arranged to engage one marginal edge of afoldeddiaper placed Within the housing while leaving the central sectionof the diaper open, and complemental fastening means at the cornersections of the housing.

MARION DONOVAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,971,671 Alsop Aug. 28, 19342,004,088 Alsop June 11, 1935 2,273,906 Spanel Feb. 24, 1942 2,493,492Malamut Jan. 3, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 606,320 GreatBritain Aug. 11, 1948

